


Bunny

by tigerlilyschild



Category: Leverage
Genre: Multi, reference to child abuse and rape, slight divergence from canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-19 21:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2402909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerlilyschild/pseuds/tigerlilyschild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Bunny's Birthday</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bunny

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own "Leverage" or its charactors. Not making money on this. Entertainment only.

**Bunny**

 

 

"Eliot! Eliot! Eliot! Eliot!" Eliot awoke abruptly to Parker's demanding voice and insistant poking fingers.

"What the _hell_ , Parker!" he growled incredulously, his blue eyes sleep-blurry.

"I need you to help me, " whispered Parker, "with Bunny."

"I was actually sleeping, " snarled Eliot,  "for once."

"But Bunny's birthday is next week!" she pleaded, still whispering. "We need to plan like we did for Alec's birthday. And I don't know how to bake a cake. And you said that I was never ever to go into your kitchen unsupervised again!"

It was true. The Spontaneously Igniting Waffle Incident was still whispered about almost reverently by the local firefighters and there were a few scorch marks on the ceiling, left in silent reminder.

Eliot stretched and contemplated his agitated thief.

"Tell me about Bunny," he said finally, "when did you get her?"

Parker winced, almost inperceptively.

"One of the good foster moms bought me Bunny. We were shopping and I saw Bunny and Bunny saw me and the foster mom said 'Look! That Bunny knows you! We should take it home!' And Bunny and I were so happy. And I walked into the house carrying Bunny and the foster dad said (Parker's voice was getting softer and softer, the words tumbling out of her mouth faster and faster) the foster dad said why did you waste money on that God Damned Bunny, the little bitch is seven, she doesn't need a stuffed animal and he made the foster mom cry and then he **TOOK** Bunny from me and Bunny was so ascared and...and...later Bunny and I blew up the house, but not 'til after the good foster mom had gone out." She gulped, obviously fighting back tears. Eliot pulled her into a warm bearhug, letting her cry into his chest. It wrenched at his heart, the abuse that his beloved thief had gone through as a child and he vowed to himself as he had many times before, that he and Hardison (Alec! his name is Alec!) would do anything in their power to make it up to her.

"How old is Bunny? How do you know that it is her birthday?" he asked, nuzzling the top of her head. Parker snuffled and wiped her nose on his chest. Eliot merely sighed and was grateful that he had a tee shirt on this time.

"She told me when her birthday is," she whispered, not wanting Bunny to hear, "and she will be twenty five. So I want a twenty five carrot cake."

"A twenty five carat cake?" puzzled Eliot. "Ah..."

"A twenty five carrot carrot cake, " clarified Parker. "With that oozie frosting that you make."

Eliot gagged, revolted.

"I do not make oozie frosting!" he protested, outraged. "I make gooey frosting!"

Parker shrugged.

"Whatever. And twenty five candy carrots on top. And twenty five candles." She tipped her tear stained face up to Eliot's. "Please?" And Eliot kissed her eyes gently.

"Have I ever been able to say no to you?" he asked gruffly. Parker gave him a watery smile and said,

"Actually...unsupervised kitchen activities...?" which surprised Eliot into a bark of laughter.

"Other than that, then. C'mon, Parker, I'll make you pancakes and then we'll plan."

 

Alec was already up and working at his computer station.

" 'sup," he murmured as they entered the living area. "Was wondering when you'd...Parker? You been crying?" Eliot plopped Parker in Alec's lap before dropping a kiss on the top of his head.

"It's all good now," he said. "Old baggage". Alec shuddered before nuzzling his face into Parker's warm neck. "Old baggage" was code for "bad stuff from the past", and they all had baggage.

 

Pancakes (and bacon and scramblies and melon and coffee and hot chocolate) were consumed and the kitchen cleaned.

 

"So, Alec, Parker wants to plan for Bunny's birthday," said Eliot briskly. Alec's eyes widened slightly.

"Bunny's birthday?" he asked uncertainly.

"Bunny will be twenty five next week," chirped Parker happily, "and Eliot is making a twenty five carrot cake!" Alec looked dubiously at Parker's excited face and Eliot's carefully blank one. "But Bunny's pretty shy, so  I don't think that we should do much more than a nice dinner and a cake, a present from each of us and sing 'Happy Birthday'. That would be perfect." Eliot, straight faced,

"What does one get a Bunny for her birthday?"

Parker just laughed.

"Bunny presents are so easy! She likes soft and warm things, books about rabbits, candy." Parker chattered enthusiastically, charming her boys with her childlike excitement.

They finally decided on lasagne for dinner (evidently one of Bunny's favorites), a green salad and garlic bread. Alec, King of Neckware, said that he would get Bunny a soft, fuzzy scarf ("Pink, Parker? Or lettuce green maybe?"). Eliot had contemplated 'Watership Down', but when he ran it by Parker, she paled and shook her head mutely.  'The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes' was approved. And Parker squeaked with joy when Alec located online (duh!) foil wrapped chocolate carrots, flowers and lady bugs. Parker ordered them on the spot, and didn't say a word about the cost.

 

"Look at the time!" exclaimed Parker suddenly, "Alice is supposed to meet Peggy in fifteen minutes! Alice is going to be late!"

"You are Alice!" her boys chorused as she bounced out the door. There was a moment of silence.

"We gotta talk, Eliot." Alec sounded worried and determined, and Eliot sighed quietly, not surprised. "I am all for our girl being happy. But is it healthy to support her delusion about Bunny? I don't think this is right."

Eliot collected his thoughts.

"Think about it, buddy," he said finally, gently, "when Parker is distressed enough to talk about the past...what comes up? Not the cigarette burns, not the beatings and broken bones...not being starved, not the...the rapes," Eliot gulped. "She talks about when 'they' took Bunny away from her. The one constant, the steadfast friend, her confidante. That's what she talks about. That was the most devastating event to her, being deprived of her one friend. So if she needs to believe that Bunny is alive, if she still needs that connection, I can't take that from her. It would be cruel."

"And Alec, it could be so much worse. In severe abuse cases, people often become disassociative. Or they become self destructive. She doesn't cut herself, she's not a drug addict, hardly drinks. Considering what she's been through, she's amazingly healthy emotionally. She just has a...glitch."

"But she can turn to us for support, she should turn to us for support!" protested Alec and Eliot nodded.

"And she does. But she still needs Bunny. Maybe she won't someday. And on some level, she probably knows that Bunny is not alive."

Alec stared at Eliot for a moment, his soft dark eyes sad.

"Have you ever raped anyone, Eliot?" he blurted and immediately looked horrified. "No, man, I didn't mean to ask that, I'm sorry." But Eliot just cupped his jaw in one broad, calloused hand and kissed him gently after saying,

"No, I can honestly say that that particular sin I have not, would not and will not commit." And to spare his lover's sensitive nature, didn't tell him about the rapes that he had endured, the brutality of the guards, the... No. That was done and in the past. Alec didn't need to know and innocent that he was, it would never occur to him.

Eliot recalled a post coital conversation that he'd had one night with Parker when Alec was out of town. He was lying on his back, content and sleepy, Parker curled into him with her head on his chest, when suddenly she sat up and said,

"We need to protect Alec!" Eliot, jerked abruptly from his blissful daze, stuttered,

"What the _hell_ , Parker!" She nodded decisively, but her eyes had that unfocused, hazy look that said she was somewhere in the past.

"We have to protect him. He..." she wrung her hands, "he's not like us. He can't do what we do. He hasn't had to experience what we have. Alec  is..." she cocked her head quizzitively, "...innocent?" And Eliot knew exactly what she meant. As knowledgable as their hacker was, on one level he was naive and unworldly, tender, untouched, unsullied. Unlike Eliot and Parker.

"You gonna be ok with this, Alec?" he asked, coming back to the present. Alec nodded reluctantly.

"Yeah. I just wish...that the world were different." Eliot smiled sadly.

"You and me both."

 

But Alec put away his reservations (for a while, at least) on Bunny's birthday. Parker was giddy with happiness, helping Bunny unwrap her presents, her face bright and eyes shining. Alec wasn't capable of taking that happiness from her.

Bunny sat on the table, smiling her stitched on smile, wrapped in her new soft scarf (lettuce green as it turned out), her fanciful chocolates piled around her, "The Country Bunny" next to her.

"I'd read a chapter to you, " said Parker, "but it's time for cake!" And Eliot brought carried out a huge carrot cake, blazing with candles, as they sang. ("Thank God I thought to use baby carrots", he growled to Alec earlier, "this cake is fuckin' enormous as is. Gonna be eating cake for days.")

"...Happy Birthday to you!" They finished the song and Parker chirped,

"Make a wish!" before blowing the candles out for Bunny.

 

"Good day, mama?" asked Alec later. He and Eliot had cleaned the kitchen and wrapped the remains of the cake while Parker read to Bunny. She smiled at  her boys.

"The best. You two are the best," she yawned.

"We're going to bed, sweetheart," Eliot said and kissed her. "You?"

"I'll be there in a few minutes. I just want to talk with Bunny a little." Alec ruffled her hair.

"Don't stay up too late."

 

"Aren't they great?" she whispered to Bunny. "Happy Birthday, Bunny!" and Bunny smiled her perpetual smile.

"You do know that I am not really alive, Parker," said Bunny gently. "Right?" Parker nodded and whispered wistfully,

"But I wish you were," and kissed her softly before joining her boys in the bedroom.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
